Temenos Grenache Alexander Valley 2019

With his broad smile and mop of unruly brown curls, winemaker Dominic Canizzaro exudes coastal Sonoma bohemian cool. He was born into a boisterous Italian American family in Sebastopol, where the fog-draped vineyards and abundant fruit orchards were the playgrounds of his youth. Dominic landed his first summer job at age 14 when he assisted a neighbor in converting an overgrown Gravenstein apple orchard to organic vineyards. After graduating high school in 2008, Dominic worked in the cellars at the esteemed Lioco, Copain, and Kistler estate wineries in the nearby Russian River Valley. He loved the fact that as a busy harvest season wound down in the fall, the convenient timing (and a full bank account) allowed him to head up to Lake Tahoe to pursue a bit of the ski bum life. Later on, itchy feet took him to the North Island of New Zealand where he worked two vintages in Hawke’s Bay before returning stateside to settle down and pursue a career in winemaking. 

Making the leap over the hill to Napa was a wise and easy choice: his uncle farms vineyards here in the valley, and his mother worked in hospitality at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Dominic enrolled in winemaking courses at Napa Valley College, and since completion in 2015, he has been the Assistant Winemaker at The Terraces estate winery in Rutherford. He has thrived and branched out into all aspects of farming under the tutelage of owner, winemaker, and fellow Burning Man enthusiast Timm Crull. A jack of all trades, Dominic oversees the day-to-day management of 113 acres of vineyards and orchards, as well as winemaking, cidermaking, beekeeping, and an aged balsamic vinegar-making program. In his precious spare time, he has crafted a Grenache that is genuinely delectable- brimming with lip-smacking acidity and tart red fruit characteristics.

Dominic’s label, Temenos, derives its name from the Greek word that connotes a sacred enclosure. For example, a white picket fence surrounding an ancient churchyard, but in this case Temenos represents the bottle itself that encapsulates the revered wine. At The Terraces, Dominic works primarily with the big, robust red varietals that make Napa famous- Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux varieties, and Zinfandel. But he harbors a deep passion for the lighter touch of red grapes such as Grenache. For this debut wine, Dominic sourced fruit in 2019 from Ralph Sceales, who farms a small plot of 50-year-old gnarly vines near Geyserville in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley. Grenache, native to the Mediterranean regions of Spain and the South of France, ripens beautifully in the warm summer afternoons and cool evenings of this AVA. After the grapes were gently picked in the wee hours of the morning, native yeast kicked off fermentation in a stainless-steel tank; and Dominic included 25% whole clusters for added brown spice notes. The wine was then racked into neutral French oak barrels, where it gracefully aged for 14 months. The nose bursts forth with aromas of tart cranberry and Bing cherry, and on the palate, a juicy acidity is tempered by fine-grained, soft tannins. A testament to his wide-ranging life experiences and talents, Dominic and his gorgeous Temenos Grenache prove that not all who wander are lost.